Plans For New ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ And ‘Perfect Dark’ Games?

Xie Enwei, General Manager Of Management And Operations Of Microsoft In China, Speaks During The Presentation Of The Xbox One — IN PHOTO: Xie Enwei, general manager of management and operations of Microsoft in China, speaks during the presentation of the Xbox One by Microsoft as part of ChinaJoy 2014 China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference in Shanghai July 30, 2014. Reuters/Carlos Barria

On Sep. 24, 2002, Microsoft purchased a company responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed Nintendo 64 games. That company goes by the name of Rare, which is somewhat befitting since the company has only made a few rare appearances in video games, the last one being an underwhelming Kinect title called "Kinect Sports Rivals."

Of course Rare is known for other titles that helped re-define the Nintendo 64 as a great console, with titles like "Donkey Kong Country" and "Conker's Bad Fur Day" under the company's belt. Despite mostly being a Kinect presence, an interview with Inner Circle Podcast revealed plans for some of Rare's beloved IP's.

Microsoft Creative Director Ken Lobb stated in the podcast: "Will there ever be another Banjo, Viva, Blast Corps, Battletoads? Yeah, someday." A report from Gamespot stated that the company is merely waiting for the right moment and the right time for a release. Lobb also debunked a rumour about Rare working on a new "Perfect Dark" game, though he didn't rule out a return from the series either. He merely stated that the Xbox already has many properties for shooters like "Gears of War" and "Halo" so they will be re-working "Perfect Dark" to fit a new game genre. The last time a "Perfect Dark" game was released was during the launch of the Xbox 360, where one of the launch titles was "Perfect Dark Zero."

Talk of Rare's original IP's came about after Microsoft copy wrote the name "Battle Toads" hinting at a possible new game coming. This lead to the possibility of even more Rare titles coming back to prominence, since most of their recent games not Kinect related were released in the Xbox 360. The last time a "Banjo-Kazooie" game was released was in 2008 titled "Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts," which received a few good reviews. The head of the Xbox division, Phil Spencer, is said to also be responsible for the re-emergence of these Rare titles according to Lobb. "This is one of the things that I love about [Phil Spencer]: He understands the value of IP," Lobb said.